The Chopin Manuscript

A Serial Thriller

By: Lee Child, David Corbett, Joseph Finder, Jim Fusilli, John Gilstrap, James Grady, David Hewson, P. J. Parrish, Jeffery Deaver

Narrated by: Alfred Molina

Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

15 thriller masters. 1 masterful thriller.

Former war crimes investigator Harold Middleton possesses a previously unknown score by Frederic Chopin. But he is unaware that, locked within its handwritten notes, lies a secret that now threatens the lives of thousands of Americans. As he races from Poland to America to uncover the mystery of the manuscript, Middleton will be accused of murder, pursued by federal agents, and targeted by assassins. But the greatest threat will come from a shadowy figure out of his past: the man known only as Faust.

The Chopin Manuscript is a unique collaboration by 15 of the world's greatest thriller writers. Jeffery Deaver conceived the characters and set the plot in motion; the other authors each wrote a chapter in turn. Deaver then completed what he started, bringing The Chopin Manuscript to its explosive conclusion.

The Chopin Manuscript was written by:
Jeffery Deaver (Lincoln Rhyme series)
David Hewson (Nic Costa series)
James Grady (Six Days of the Condor)
S. J. Rozan (Bill Smith/Lydia Chin series)
Erica Spindler (Last Known Victim)
John Ramsey Miller (Winter Massey series)
David Corbett (Blood of Paradise)
John Gilstrap (Scott Free)
Joseph Finder (Power Play)
Jim Fusilli (Terry Orr series)
Peter Spiegelman (John March series)
Ralph Pezzullo (Jawbreaker)
Lisa Scottoline (Daddy's Girl)
P.J. Parrish (Louis Kincaid, Joe Frye series)
Lee Child (Jack Reacher series)

©2007 International Thriller Writers, Inc., Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, David Hewson, James Grady, S. J. Rozan, Erica Spindler, John Ramsey Miller, David Corbett, John Gilstrap, Joseph Finder, Jim Fusilli, Peter Spiegelman, Ralph Pezzullo, Lisa Scottoline, and P. J. Parrish (P)2007 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• 2008 Audie Award Winner
  Audiobook of the Year

"Innovative and unique, The Chopin Manuscript, written by masters in the field of thrillers, is far more than the sum of its parts. Here each author shines, blending individual skill and energy, into a riveting, crackling-paced tapestry of murder, mystery, and mayhem. Not to be missed!" (James Rollins, author of The Judas Strain)

"A GREAT story, written by one GREAT author after another, in one GREAT chapter after another. A stellar achievement of collectivity that blows from the starting gate at 100 mph and never slows down. A thrill-a-page from 15 GREAT thriller masters. Don't miss this one." (Steve Berry, author of The Venetian Betrayal)

Chick Book

I'm not very familiar with the many authors who collaborated to write this book. But I would have to imagine that most of them are women. Not a terrible book, just written by women for women. Also alittle disjointed, but what do you expect with 34 authors?

Our first serial mystery

My wife and I listen to our audio books while driving and frequently pause the book to discuss some aspect of what we are hearing. The Chopin Manuscript and it's sequel were so wonderfully outrageous that we would exclaim at the end of each chapter at what that author was passing on to the next one. What delightful writing and narration. You are in for a real treat!

A decent novel

The Chopin Manuscript is a decent novel with many unexpected twists and turns. It is definately worth the time it to listen to it. With that being said, this book had 15 different authors while each tried to add their own special mark on the final product. It is very easy to miss a key point that is very important later in the book. Also, I noticed that some events such as a character being killed has no bearing on the final story. You are sort of left wondering "why did they do that?"

Overall, I'm glad I purchased and listened to the novel. It's not great but it is good.

A little disappointed

I have to say I was a little disappointed in this book. I loved the conept of the collaboration of so many great thriller writers but in the end the story kind of fell flat. It wasn't awful by any means, I enjoyed it but I just didn't love it. The narrator was great though.

Fun listening experience

This compilation was the first hyper colaboration I've ever read or listened to. I enjoyed every change in the different authors perspective and the way the story wound in non linear tangents. This was a lot of fun to listen to, and well read by Mr. Molina. I'd love to see more works like this in the future.

Excellent read

Awesome the way all these writers made this thriller flow as if one person was writing. A great twist at the end

Unconmected plot

This book is a fun idea that did not turn out well. Characters would be introduced only to disappear. A character would drive across the state only to return for such a simple plot device as forgetting a phone. This book was painful to listen to.

Enjoyed it!

Initially, I had to relisten to the first 2 cds a couple times to get/keep the characters straight. After that, I enjoyed it immensely. Very clever concept. I cannot imagine how hard it was for the individual authors although I think it must have been easier in the beginning.
Of the two short stories, I found the first one to be excellent. It kept my interest and was intriguing. The second one, I gave up on listening to it. Makes you think there were only two entries.
Overall, I would listen to another project of this format. Very well done!

Amazing

This story flows well. It is a testament to the skills of the various writers that they can take someone else's characters and story lines and develop them to make a thoroughly enjoyable, complete package. Altogether a great "read"!

Awesome story

I loved how this book worked. So many of my favorite authors in one book! Loved the story and all the twist and turns the story took!

Hopefully they will do this again!